PIEDMONT BAPTIST COLLEGE AND GRADUATE SCHOOL
A HERMENEUTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PURPOSE FOR SIGN GIFTS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
HERMENEUTICS: BIN500 DR. CLAY NUTTALL GRADUATE DIVISION
BY: TIMOTHY L. DECKER 12/10/2006
Contents Introduction ........................................................................................1 Purpose #1 – To Authenticate the Messenger and His Message ..................1 Purpose #2 – To Evangelize ..................................................................6 Purpose #3 – A Sign for the Jews ...........................................................7 Sign Gifts Were Meant to Be Temporary ..................................................9 The Danger of Missing the Purpose of Sign Gifts .....................................12 Conclusion.........................................................................................13 Works Cited.......................................................................................15
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Introduction More and more the issue of Spiritual gifts has been in the forefront of controversy among evangelicals and even fundamentalist circles. The major issue of dispute rests on the sign gifts of the New Testament. A major flaw in most charismatic circles is that they study what the gifts were and how they were used, but they ignore the Biblical purpose for the sign gifts. This paper will set out to show the Biblical view of sign gifts in the New Testament by using the grammatical, contextual, and historical rules of interpretation under the guidance of the literal method of hermeneutics. Purpose #1 – To Authenticate the Messenger and His Message The historical content of the first century is vital to understand the Biblical purpose for the Church. The Church began at Pentecost; that is a historical fact supported by the Scriptures. What is important that aside from Christ Himself, there had not been any new revelation from God since the book of Malachi 400 years before Christ. And now, God in His sovereign plan has brought in a new dispensation – the dispensation of the Church. The extent of revelation needed to usher in this new age is very large. Things were changing that without proper revelation, the Church would have died shortly after its birth. The first Christians were Jews. For these Jews to move away from Judaism and into Christianity took more than a leap of faith. They needed concrete evidence from God that His plan of establishing a kingdom had been thwarted and a parenthetical age of the Church is about 1
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to begin. “Tongues, healings, and miracles all served as signs to authenticate an era of new revelation.”1 Just think about the religious practice of Judaism. The practice of keeping the Sabbath day (Saturday) was extremely important. For the Jewish Christians to stop such an age-old ritual and practice of keeping that Sabbath and begin their congregational worship of the Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday was even bigger than we could imagine in the 21st century. That is a major reason that the Jewish Christians received so much flak for their faith. But what could make these devout Jews end such a ritual? What kind of authority did they rest on to make such a monumental decision? The answer would be the apostolic authority which brought in new revelation from God. To begin with, the New Testament was not written immediately at Pentecost. Without any written revelation from God, to what were the new converts to Christianity to cling to? The logical answer to this is that God revealed His new age of the Church through the apostles and their message. This logic should continue to the fact that once the New Testament was completed and the apostles gradually were taken off the scene, God’s sign revelation ceased and moved back to written revelation only. But this is jumping the gun. It must first be addressed the apostolic need and authority. 1
MacArthur, pg. 118.
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The Church needed revelation from God to learn of their new dispensation and practices that they were to attend to. Since the written Word of the New Testament was not immediately written, God used the foundation of the apostles to build the Church. Matthew 16:18 is a debated verse, but it definitely seems to say that Christ will build the Church. Every building needs a foundation or the building will fall. According to Paul in Ephesians 2:20, the apostles were that foundation, with Christ being the corner stone. Later, Paul gives the order of succession for those that would be used for the building of the Church in Ephesians 4:11-12. The very first were the apostles. The foundational aspect of the apostles to the Church is an undeniable Scriptural truth that is very relevant for the issue of sign gifts. “The superstructure of the true Church is built upon a foundation which consists exclusively of Christ and His apostles (Eph. 2:20, 1 Cor. 3:10-11, Rev. 21:14). Since the foundation of a building only needs to be laid once, we may be sure that God has not given any new revelation to His people since the apostles died.”2 “The foundation gifts of apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20) belonged to the founding era of the church, and do not appear in the period of building the superstructure of the church.”3 Whitcomb goes on to state concerning the foundation of the Church, “The
2
Whitcomb, 6.
3
Ryrie, 126.
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fact that only His apostles belonged in the foundation is seen clearly in our Lord’s high priestly prayer, when He prayed for those who would believe on Him ‘through their word,’ namely, the word of the apostles to whom ‘all the truth’ would be given by the Holy Spirit (John 17:20; 16:13).”4 But how were people to know a true apostle from a false-teacher? Though there are Scriptural qualifications for an apostle, prior to the New Testament, the people needed a verification from God Himself to approve His messenger. God gave them the special sign gifts to mark the hand of God on that person. “Tongues were a part of the miraculous era of Christ and the apostles and were necessary, along with the gifts of miracles, as an authenticating sign of the apostles (2 Cor. 12:12). With the completion of the Scriptures there was no longer any need for an authenticating sign; the Bible was now the authority in verifying the message that God’s servants proclaimed.”5 Christ prophesies of these sign gifts for the apostles at the end of Mark.6 Verse 17 of chapter 16 begins with Christ’s declaration of the apostles signs. Reading through the book of Acts, it can be seen where the apostles used these signs.
4
Whitcomb, 6-7.
5
Enns, 273.
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Though some Mss and textual critics question the validity of the last half of Mark 16, it will be assumed for the sake of the argument that it is part of the inspired text of Scripture.
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Hebrews 2:3-4 echoes this fact even further. Verse 4 says that “God also testifying with them (the apostles), both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.” It is important to remember that this passage states that this was reserved to “them”. The “them” is said to be “those who heard” Christ. In other words these were apostolic gifts given to the apostles. That would mean that this is a temporary nature to these gifts since the apostles died off and one of the biggest qualifications of an apostle is that he has seen the resurrected Christ (Acts 1:21-22). Notice that the context of the passage was first dealing with the revelation that Christ Himself gave. The next group of people in logical order as presented by Paul in Ephesians 4:11 are the apostles. MacArthur points out an important point that backs up the relevance of the historical setting of the early Church. “The words ‘it was confirmed’ are in the past tense, an accurate reflection of the Greek text. Here is a clear biblical word that the miracles, wonders, and sign gifts were given only to the first-generation apostles to confirm that they were messengers of new revelation.”7 MacArthur points out the comparison of the beginning of the Church which lacked written revelation but had much apostolic revelation. The fact that this verse refers to it in the past tense seems to send the message that the apostolic time was coming to a close.
7
MacArthur, pg. 119.
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Not only was the messenger important, but there was a need of signs to authenticate the message of the messenger. 1 Corinthians 14:22, Paul clearly classifies the gift of speaking in tongues as a sign gift. As amazing as it is that someone can speak a different language, there still needed to be an authoritative way to verify that message. Thus another sign gift of interpreting tongues was necessary. Paul clearly gave the church at Corinth the guidelines for speaking in tongues (1 Cor. 14:26-29). One was not supposed to speak in tongues if the message of the messenger could not be verified. All over the New Testament there were warnings about false teachers preaching a false gospel. Since there was no objective written revelation to test the message, another part of sign gifts were to authenticate the message. Purpose #2 – To Evangelize Looking at Christ and His miracles, the purpose for His miraculous healings were not done just for a physical and thus a temporal blessing. Christ used the powers of healing and miracles as a tool of evangelism. Why would it be any different for the apostles of the early Church? Without the written revelation of the New Testament, the messenger and his message had to be proven from God. Thus, these miracles were performed. But these miracles were not done for just a physical blessing. Every time a miracle took place, the apostles began to preach the message of Jesus Christ.
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Specifically, Paul explains that the sign gift of tongues were meant for those who do not believe (1 Cor. 14:22). This concept is very well seen in Acts 2 where there is a great number of people added to the Church. The Church can receive a blessing from one speaking in tongues, but only if there is an interpreter. But the primary purpose of all sign gifts within the Church is to spread the new revelation of God’s Word concerning the Church. Mark 16:15-18 echoes this idea as well. By using the contextual rule of interpretation, one can see that the sign gifts are directly and contextually tied to the great commission. Christ prophesies of His disciples that they will be able to perform great miraculous signs. But notice the context. Christ begins by giving the great commission in verses 15-16. What is followed is the method of verification in verses 17-18. People who were going to hear this message needed to know that this message was truly from God. Therefore, “these signs” will accompany the apostles to authenticate their message of salvation. Purpose #3 – A Sign for Jews This purpose for sign gifts goes hand in hand with the question of who they were meant for. As was stated earlier, for the Jews to give up their most sacred practices and begin following a different form of worship is extremely huge. Thus at the beginning of the Church, the Jews needed some sort of sign to establish this new revelation from God. But this is
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nothing new for the Jews. The Jews have always sought after a sign. Paul makes the case that Jews are the ones who seek and thus need a sign in 1 Corinthians 1:22. The entire context of the Scriptures must be consulted to understand why this is. The Jews were the covenanted people of God. They had shared that special relationship with God for a very long time. Israel was always told to look for signs. In Isaiah 7:14, it is explicitly stated for the Jews to look for a sign – a virgin birth. In fact, all of the Messianic prophecies were signs for Israel to recognize concerning their future king. Israel had always looked for a sign. This is seen in Thomas’s unbelief of Christ’s resurrection. John 20:25 speaks of the mindset of the Jews to always seek after a sign when Thomas refuses to believe without seeing Christ in person. The Pharisees questioned Jesus for a sign. His response in Matthew 12:39 is a great description of the state of the Jewish people – “an evil and adulterous generation.” Therefore, why would God change the purpose for signs in the New Testament? The Scriptures make no claim that the Gentiles shall be the new recipients of signs. In fact, every place a sign or miracle takes place by the apostles or the early Church, there is Jew present. Gentiles could take part in this amazing ministry of sign gifts, but the purpose of the sign gifts were for Jews. Now this may have benefited the Gentiles with such an overflow of miracles, but that does not negate the fact that the Jews require a sign.
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Paul very clearly demonstrates this in 1 Corinthians 14:21. Usually, when a New Testament writer quotes from an Old Testament writing, he means for the context of that writing to be consulted and studied. 1 Corinthians 14:21 is no exception. Paul quotes from Isaiah 28:11-12. A tongue of another language was the same in Isaiah’s day as it was in Paul’s day. The purpose was for “this people.” Examining the context of Isaiah, it refers to Israel. Paul carries that idea over to 1 Corinthians 14 and still has in mind Israel. Granted, speaking in tongues does not always win people to the truth. That has always been the way as seen in Isaiah 28:12. This is also seen in Acts 2 since not every person listening came to Christ that day. Tongues were just a means to be a sign to Israel. The Jews needed some special revelation to guide them into the new dispensation of the Church. Without this new revelation, the Judaizers would have free reign to shape and mold the Gospel as they saw fit. Sign Gifts Were Meant to Be Temporary After examining the three main purposes of sign gifts in the New Testament, it is easy to conclude that sign gifts were temporary in the early Church. Once the New Testament was written, there was no more need to authenticate the messenger and his message. The New Testament was the grounds of judgment on the messenger and his message. “If supernatural signs were thus intended to serve as confirmations of God’s special
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messengers and their message, it seems obvious that such signs would no longer be needed after these messengers had brought their message.”8 History, secular and Biblical, marks the temporary nature of these sign gifts. “New Testament history indicates that the various sign gifts were no longer in use after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.”9 One might understand this principle of the sign gifts ending at the destruction of Jerusalem when one understands the purpose for sign gifts were specifically for the Jews. If the Jews were to be dispersed and mingled with Gentiles, then for the sake of the Gentiles, the Jews were bound to believe apart from signs. Scriptures itself declare the temporal nature of the sign gifts in 1 Corinthians 13:8. The debate is not the temporal nature but the actual time when the sign gifts will cease. The center of debate rests in verse 10. Since there is some obscurity here, it is hard to be dogmatic. Taking in consideration of the following context, the text does seem to indicate that the sign gifts belonged “to the infancy stage of the Church (1 Cor. 13:10-11; 14:20).”10 If this is the case, then it would explain why Paul decides to use an obscure word for the canon of the Scriptures, since He had no other way
8
Whitcomb, 6.
9
Whitcomb, 7.
10
Enns, 273.
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to put it during his time. If “the perfect”
nd
of verse 10 were the 2
coming
of Christ, it does seem like Paul tried to make it unclear. The Scriptures also phase out the mention of sign gifts being used. Paul discusses it in 1 Corinthians12, but after that, there is no mention of them. The letter of 1 Corinthians was probably written on Paul’s third missionary journey. That would date it around 50-55 A.D. In other words it was one of the earliest letters written by Paul. He never mentions the practice of tongues again due to its temporary use. Also, there is an indication that these sign gifts are leaving the scene in accordance with the apostolic era coming to a close. Paul definitely had the signs of an apostle according to Acts 19:11. But near the end of Paul’s ministry, Paul himself writes that he had left Trophimus sick (2 Tim. 4:20). If the use of sign gifts were so important, it would seem that Paul would emphasize them more in his last letters to Titus and Timothy. “Thus, step by step, God was removing the scaffolding of miracles from the Early Church as the New Testament Scriptures were being completed and the apostles were dying off. The Holy Spirit was now focusing they eyes of Christians exclusively upon the written Word, apart
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The Greek word is teloV which can also means complete.
Even in Paul’s discussion of sign gifts (tongues specifically), it should be noted that a literal interpretation of 1 Cor. 12-14 would show the fact that Paul was not promoting tongues, but rather restraining the flagrant use of it.
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from which there is no salvation or spiritual maturity (2 Tim. 3:15-17).”
Whitcomb makes a strong but true statement when he speaks of 2 Timothy 3:15-17. If it is the “sacred Scriptures” which “leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus,” then would sign gifts even be necessary for today. What use would God have for them if the written Word is the only guide for evangelism? The logical and Scriptural answer is that God does not have a use for them currently. There is no reason for such sign gifts as tongues, healings, and miracles to be present and lead people to Christ. To say that sign gifts are necessary for today is to say that the Word of God is not as quick and sharp as Hebrews 4:12 declares it to be. The Danger of Missing the Purpose of Sign Gifts Since one of the main purposes of sign gifts are to give more revelation and authenticate that revelation is truly from God, anyone practicing these sign gifts today are in reality giving extra-Biblical information. What is more, the majority of the time, this “extra revelation” is in direct conflict with the Scriptures. What is left is the whim of the messenger delivering whatever is on his mind. But if the message is not new revelation from God, then it is the concepts of sinful man’s reasoning. In essence, the authority is no longer the Word of God, but whatever the preacher says. If his theology tells him that God wants all men to be
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Whitcomb, 10.
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prosperous, then the Biblical teachings are pushed aside and the preacher’s “truths” are brought forward under the blanket of “thus says the Lord.” But where is the objectivity? If the extra-Biblical teachings don’t fall into line with Scriptural teachings, then who is right? In the end, if there is not an objective authority to place as the foundation for everything that is done, then man will just seek to place himself in the position of authority. That is part of his sin nature. Whatever doctrine best fits man’s current situation is the new revelation from God. Before long, emotion and experience are emphasized over the written Word of God. People begin to look for an ecstatic experience with God. Conclusion Sign gifts were truly a remarkable tool for the building of the early Church. It is amazing to see how God worked in times where specific revelation was important for the Church to function properly. The three main purposes of the sign gifts were the way in which God enabled the Church to function without the written revelation of the New Testament. The purposes of authenticating the messenger and his message, of evangelism, and for the Jews are definitely no longer needed for today. This study should make Christians come to appreciate the New Testament more and more. God can use His written Word just as much as He can use amazing sign gifts. But when man tries to place himself into authority and “use” these sign gifts for today, there is a problem. The Biblical view of sign gifts
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in the New Testament can only be seen by using the grammatical, contextual, and historical rules of interpretation under the guidance of the literal method of hermeneutics. If proper interpretation is done, then the only conclusion that is left is that the sign gifts were temporary on the basis that their use has no purpose in the time of the complete canon of the Word of God.
WORKS CITED Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology. Chicago: Moody Press, 1989. MacArthur, John F. Charismatic Chaos. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993. Ryrie, Charles C. The Holy Spirit. Rev. and Exp ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1997. Whitcomb, John C., Jr. Does God Want Christians to Perform Miracles Today? Winona Lake, Ind.: BMH Books, 1973.
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